Seniors Advise on College Applications

Seniors Advise on College Applications

Every year around this time, seniors rush to decide on colleges and finish their essays and applications.

For most Dougherty Valley seniors, this is a stressful time of year, each with an average of 12-13 college applications (the greatest amount at 76), including early decision applications. It is a process that will decide their futures for the next few years. Juniors, and  maybe even sophomores and freshmen too, might also be shaking with fear thinking about the years to come.

To help, current DVHS seniors have provided some advice on college applications based on their experience so far.

Starting with the most stressful part of the college applications, “If you really want to write a stellar, unique essay, don’t stress yourself out and force yourself to sit in front of your computer for hours when you don’t have any ideas. Just go through your daily routine normally, but keep the essays at the back of your mind and when you have a flash of inspiration write it down immediately” stated Tim*, who has learned from experience that the more stressed you become, the harder it is to write a creative and personalized essay.

It seems that for most seniors, the hardest part about college applications include organizing information, managing time/ procrastination, which most students are probably victims of, and, of course, finding personal and creative ideas and perfecting essays.

For those seniors who are still procrastinating, it’s not too late to change your habits and start now, especially on the essays.  Multiple seniors have emphasized the importance of starting the essays and college applications early, even more so for those who are applying to a vast amount of colleges.

However, as most seniors have a heavy workload and don’t have time to work on their college apps, Sara* encourages students to “Just finish the essays. Work on it for 30 minutes and then move on; it’ll make your life so much easier.”

Just take out some of your time each day when you want a break from homework and you’ll be done in no time.

Besides essays, teacher recommendations are also extremely important. Jay*, who wants to go to MIT or CalTech  and will apply to 76 colleges, advises students to “get teachers to like you”, as getting teacher recommendations are also one of the hardest parts of applications.

As for the current juniors and other underclassmen, Rose*, who wishes to go to Brown University, has advised starting brainstorming essays during the summer and Mohak*, whose dream college is Babson, has also recommended to those who want an easier first semester, to start college applications as early as July or August. For students who are active in clubs or have many activities, Fred*, aspiring to go to UC San Diego, suggests that students should keep track of their clubs and activities.

Although clubs and extracurricular activities are important, Meg* reminds everyone that “junior year is not the most important year for grades. All three years are equally as important.”

With all that said, hopefully this advice will help them in their college applications, make their lives easier and relieve some of their stress.

And remember: don’t procrastinate!
*Names have been changed